The Orbis

Issue date: 9/11/07 Section: Issues

A single in Kissam: $3,728 per semester. A Towers suite with bathroom, kitchen and living room: $3,728 per semester. Unfortunately at Vanderbilt, we do not pay for what we get. No matter what conditions one lives in, how large or small the room is or how deplorable the bathrooms are, every student pays the same price for housing.

Many other universities, particularly those in cities with comparable population and real estate costs of Nashville, charge different prices depending on a number of factors, including size, quality and location of the rooms. However, with Vanderbilt's current system, no matter how unlucky students are or what kind of housing they are stuck with, they will pay the same price as an upperclassman who can reserve the best living spaces. A tiny Kissam single costs the same as a Chaffin with bathrooms, a kitchen and living room as part of the apartment.

Students should get what they pay for. Prorated housing is a much more realistic representation of real estate: nicer houses, apartments and living conditions cost more - a fact reflected in pricing structure. Of course there should still be mechanisms in place to ensure that upperclassmen have more opportunities to reserve nicer housing than freshmen or sophomores. However, within each class year, there should be different prices for each residence hall.

While the major criticism may arise that this way of assessing housing rates would draw more attention to socioeconomic class divisions on campus, the university should still give students with tight budgets the option to sacrifice quality for affordability. Vanderbilt already does a good job offering financial aid for tuition and living expenses, so it should not be a stretch to help students a little more and create a more fair and sensible system of housing.

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